By Rodrigo Díaz and Josemaría Moreno
A city’s cultural supply is a good parameter of the quality of life, and in San Miguel we are proud that it’s not just our beautiful architecture and history that create such a good quality of life. Given the size of our town, San Miguel’s artistic and cultural manifestations are also something to brag about.
All year-round, not-stop, those of us who live here are witnesses to multiple cultural events, festivals, and exhibitions hosted in this, our city, a World Heritage site. Indeed, we get to enjoy these expressions of culture, but also, we get to relish in the ambience that the arts produce in the streets and in the minds of our townsfolk, as if there was something in the air that electrifies everyone who is hungry for a pleasant aesthetic experience. Everything takes a silent and joyful turn: coffee tastes better, colors are brighter, conversations are all the more interesting… Or are we overreacting? Could it be that we are being influenced by that beneficial effect the arts have?
During this week, we have enjoyed this pleasant effect thanks to the SMA Writers Conference that, after two years in a virtual and hybrid modality caused by the pandemic and COVID-19, returns to its in-person modality, which brings with it, the return of logistic challenges that an event this size demands: a tri-cultural bilingual event offering more than 40 intensive literary workshops; keynote speakers, editors, and literary agencies onsite; and literary aficionados from the three North-American countries. Following what is now tradition, the conference will take place on the grounds of Hotel Real de Minas, which, thanks to its beautiful gardens and rooms for events, remains as the ideal venue for this massive event.
It is worthwhile to remember that this event has hosted remarkable literary talents such as Rosa Beltrán, Calvin Trillin, Barbara Kinsolver, Juan Villoro, Cristina Rivera Garza, Margaret Atwood, Jorge Volpi, and Joyce Carol Oates, to name but a few notable examples. During this week, we have had the pleasure to enjoy conferences by Janelle Brown, author of novels you might recognize from television or just from the bookshelf, especially “Pretty Things,” in development with Nicole Kidman. Her other novels are “I’ll Be You,” “Watch Me Disappear,” “All We Ever Wanted Was Everything,” and “This Is Where We Live.” Brenda Lozano, Tuesday´s keynote speaker, is an up-and-coming author from Mexico City whose novels “Cuaderno Ideal” and “Brujas” have been translated into English under the titles “Loop” and “Witches: A Novel.”
Benjamin Lorr, Wednesday’s keynote speaker, has written two highly acclaimed investigative books, “The Secret Life of Groceries,” which tackles the mythos of Trader Joe’s and the entire supply chain that supports the foodery scene, and “Hell-Bent,” which delves into the obsessive world of competitive yoga and the culture of Bikram Yoga. Thursday´s keynote speaker is Linda Spaulding, who speaks of recreating time and place in her historical novels, “A Reckoning” and “Daughters of Captain Cook.” Finally, on Friday, Jean Kwok speaks of her own immigration story that took her from Chinatown sweatshops to a Harvard degree and to become author of “Searching for Sylvie Lee,” “Girl in Translation,” and “Mambo in Chinatown.”
As one can easily fathom, any great event shares a great story. Let us remember that the Writers Conference, when it started in 2006 (although back in 2004 a literary sala was first formed), was a modest event that hosted 28 participants. Ever since, the conference has grown exponentially thanks to the direction that its executive director and founder, Susan Page, impressed upon it. However, in a recent Zoom interview from California, Susan declared this would be her last conference.
In the interview, Susan said that “it is definitely time for me to retire, but I’ll probably keep a hand in.” Most likely, she will be taking care of donors and patrons. As the event has grown so big, these people help to keep the conference affordable for everyone. “We couldn’t afford to put the conference on with just registration fees.” Without a doubt, Susan’s role in the conference, though no longer as its head, will remain invaluable.
Fortunately, she leaves behind a professional and hard-working team. A half-dozen people will be overlooking every detail regarding the conference: logistics, talent acquisition, financing, publicity, etc. Most of her team has been working with her for more than eight years, and they are ready to tackle the challenge that Susan leaves behind. Still, the transition was well planned. “I turned over major responsibilities long before this conference,” she commented. One person from her team stands out, Susan’s “shadow angel,” as she calls Tina Bueche, who first joined the conference as a volunteer more than 10 years ago and is now an essential part of the whole operation. “She came on as volunteer coordinator in 2017,” recalled Susan, “and then just became extremely active on the executive committee taking on more responsibilities. She became the director of operations and then the associate executive director. I am extremely grateful as I needed someone that was willing and capable of taking over. She came to the Conference at a great time.”
In relation to the conference itself, it is worth noting that Susan, to our delight, was involved in the entire process, especially in carefully selecting this year’s presenters. “We look for writers who are good speakers, good presenters,” said Susan. “We want the keynote address to be a big hit. We look for things they’ve done on YouTube, write to other conferences where they have spoken to get a read on what kind of guests they were. That’s a tough criteria. We also strive for a mix of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry—a mix of genders and diversity.”
“We’ve tried to create a conference that has something for everyone,” said Susan. And certainly, that is the case as the conference also sponsors several writing workshops and a now-famous bookstore with titles written by San Miguel’s own talent. A landmark all on its own, this conference has been a great success story, and though we say goodbye to Susan Page, we know that conference is in good hands.
